The government of Ontario has resumed issuing Notifications of Interest (NOIs) to applicants who meet the criteria for the Express Entry Human Capital Priorities (HCP) Stream of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). NOIs may begin to be issued to eligible candidates in the Express Entry pool the week of April 10-14, 2017, and, according to the government, NOIs will be issued periodically throughout the year until the annual allocation is reached.

This popular Canadian immigration stream allows candidates in the federal Express Entry pool who are invited by the OINP to make an application for a provincial nomination certificate. When added to an Express Entry profile, this nomination certificate means that the candidate receives 600 additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, placing him or her at the head of the line for selection in a subsequent draw from the pool.

Advice from the OINP

The province issued a statement with some strategic advice for potential applicants, encouraging them “to create a new profile in the Express Entry (EE) system to make it easier for Ontario to identify their profile during its search of the federal government’s Express Entry pool.” Candidates who do this are required to delete their old Express Entry profile and create a newone, including re-registering in the Canada Job Bank, which remains a mandatory step for candidates who do not have a job offer on entering the pool.

In-Demand Trades Also Targeted

In addition, the OINP announced that in this round of NOI issuance, candidates in construction-sector skilled trades that are in demand in the province will also be targeted. However, the issuance of NOIs is not limited to candidates who have work experience in these trades — candidates in other occupations may also receive a NOI.